Redfin Names the Most Competitive Neighborhoods for Homebuyers in 2015

Homebuyers Felt the Heat in Boston, Seattle, Portland and San
Francisco

December 29, 2015 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 30 most competitive neighborhoods to buy a home in 2015 are located
in just four cities, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com),
the next-generation real estate brokerage. It is no coincidence that
these cities — Boston, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco — are also
among the nation’s prominent technology hubs.

“These four metro areas have set themselves apart in terms of attracting
and creating high-wage jobs in tech, pharma, and finance, and that has
heated up the local housing market. When a short supply of homes
collides with high-income homebuyers, you get this hot,
hyper-competitive climate,” Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson said.

Inman Square in Cambridge, Mass., was the most competitive neighborhood
in Redfin’s ranking, followed by Overlake in the Seattle suburb of
Redmond.

Below are the 10 most competitive neighborhoods for homebuyers in 2015:

Rank

Neighborhood (City)

Metro

1

Inman Square (Cambridge)

Boston

2

Overlake (Redmond)

Seattle

3

Brighton/Allston

Boston

4

Roosevelt

Seattle

5

Hawthorne

Portland

6

Spring Hill (Somerville)

Boston

7

Grass Lawn (Redmond)

Seattle

8

Central Sunset

San Francisco

9

Phinney Ridge

Seattle

10

Cambridgeport (Cambridge)

Boston

To rank the most competitive neighborhoods to buy a home, Redfin
analyzed multiple indicators of competition from 2015, including the
percentage of homes that sold above asking price, how quickly homes went
under contract and the percentage of Redfin offers that faced bidding
wars. The data came from multiple listing services (MLSes), public
records and proprietary data on Redfin agent and customer activity.

Redfin (www.redfin.com)
is a next-generation real estate brokerage that represents people buying
and selling
homes. Founded by technologists, Redfin employs a team of
experienced, full-service real
estate agents who are advocates, not salespeople, earning
customer-satisfaction bonuses, not just commissions. Redfin.com features
all the broker-listed homes for sale, as well as for-sale-by-owner
properties that don't pay brokers a commission. Redfin also offers online
tools, built by its own software engineers, that make the entire
process of buying or selling a home easier and more fun. The company
serves major markets across the U.S. and has closed nearly $20 billion
in home sales. In 2012, Redfin was named one of The DIGITAL 100: World's
Most Valuable Private Tech Companies by Business Insider.